7 Amazing Health Benefits of Honey
For pre & post workout fuel, diabetes & disease prevention, and even good sleep- honey can't be bee-t!
7 Astounding Health Benefits of Honey
Honey is a natural food source produced by bees after they collect nectar from flowers. Besides sweetening your tea and toast, honey has a number of health benefits!
The following benefits of honey are not found in processed and pasteurized "honey". They can only be found in raw and unprocessed honey. Buy local!
- Natural fuel
Honey is one of the most effective natural sources of carbohydrates to supply fuel for the body. It does not cause spikes and crashes like refined white sugars so it helps to prevent fatigue during exercise. Glucose in honey provides your instant energy, and fructose enables endurance because it's absorbed slow by the body. It even helps muscle recovery. As a before and after workout snack, honey is a healthy choice!
- Anti Aging and Anti Disease
Honey contains as many antioxidants as found in spinach, apples, strawberries and oranges. Antioxidants block free radicals within the body that are the cause of disease. They boost the immune system as well, as a preventative against numerous debilitating diseases. Honey also contains polyphenols- powerful antioxidants known to reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer. These antioxidants have a wondrous number of preventative effects against not only cancer and cardiovascular diseases, but infectious diseases, inflammatory disorders, neurological degeneration, and aging as well!
Sick of Mama Telling You to Eat Your Spinach? Swap it for Honey!
- More Anti Aging
Honey is a natural humectant which means it seals in moisture. After washing your face apply a thin layer of honey and let sit 15 minutes to overnight, then rinse. You can do this for your entire body for a softness and brightening glow that lasts for hours. It's also antibacterial so leaving honey on the skin will cleanse pores, exfoliate and prevent acne and fine lines.
Wound Healing and Sunburns
Honey's anti inflammatory agents absorb deep to soothe sunburned skin. And honey reacts with with body fluids to make hydrogen peroxide which creates an inhospitable environment for bacteria so apply it to wounds twice a day for the antibacterial infection preventing powers and to lessen the future scar with the hydration benefits.Natural Weight Loss
Research has found that replacing all refined sugar with honey promotes weight loss due to the fact that the amino acids in honey aid in digestion and are a pure food- unlike processed and refined sugars. Switching to honey for all your sweetening needs also lowers blood sugar levels.Natural Allergy "Shot"
Forget Benadryl and Dr visits for that dreaded allergy shot! Take a shot of honey daily to desensitize your body against seasonal allergy attacks.
- Sleep Well with Honey
Honey promotes the deep, restorative sleep in two ways. When you consume honey before bed, it restocks your liver’s glycogen supply and prevents your brain from triggering a crisis search for fuel- which is why you wake up in the middle of the night hungry or craving sweets.
Also by eating honey before bed you trigger the release of melatonin from your brain which then stimulates the release of tryptophan in the brain. Tryptophan converts to serotonin, which is the relaxing hormone.
In addition to helping you sleep, melatonin boosts your immunity and helps your body rebuild tissue while you rest.
This is why our elders always drank a cup of tea with honey before bed.
But why did they give us tea with honey when we were sick?
Honey is a Natural Couch Suppressant
Research studies have proven honey to be as effective in cough suppression as over the counter cough medicines. It also lessens mucus creation.Prevent Diabetes
Researchers in Dubai and Stanford medical are heavily noting the benefits honey, especially when combined with cinnamon, in reducing the risk of developing diabetes, blood sugar management, and helping in aiding medication used to treat diabetes.
Adding natural, unprocessed honey to your daily diet is one of the best things you can do for your health!
Honey may be the world's perfect food. Archaeologists have found jars of honey in Egyptian tombs dating over 3000 years old! And after testing it is just as tasty and healthy as honey produced today.
Talk about anti aging!
What is your favorite use for honey?
Images via Creative Commons and Giphy.
DISCLAIMER: Do NOT give honey to infants 1 year and under.
Also, DO NOT eat unprocessed or raw honey if you are allergic to bees without consulting your doctor first!
I appreciate your support :)
With Love and Light and Good Mojo to my Tribe!
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❤
Have you ever heard of mad honey?
No, what is mad honey?
It's also called Turkish honey. It's psychoactive and people say it's not easy to handle.
Infos:
Live experience:
Oh wow... crazy! I haven't even heard of this yet! I'm watching the vids...
I've written article about it.
I love honey, I am literally having some raw honey right now!! I collect honey from all over the world. Just moved recently in Florida and I am looking for local farms with local raw honey to visit. Also, honey works very well with chipped lips.
From one honey afficionado to another, I salute you! ❤🐝 This is my article about my very recent move to Hallandale, Florida https://steemit.com/florida/@ruxonsteemit/new-to-florida-need-your-help
Love 😇,
Ruxandra
Upvoted and following you ❤@Arbitrarykitten
I'm not sure about the fact that honey helps one loose weight in terms of fat loss. Honey is, after all, half sucrose and half fructose.
Which is exactly sugar and therefore is directly responsible to high insulin secretion.
The body can not burn fat in the presence of such amount of insulin in the system.
Research has shown if you replace all your white refined sugar with honey there is weight loss without other effort.
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Thank you @cryptohustlin :)
Lots of good info. I love honey. I often use it to sweeten my green tea.
I love it in my green and white teas daily. I'm an addict, lol, I have not gone one day without my tea and honey in a lonnnng time ;)
Lucky. I was out a couple of days ago. 😠
Oh no! Yea, It's a staple in my cabinet. I swear, if I ran out I would be like a tweaker on the corner- you got any honey? Please, just a teaspoon- I need my fix
!!!
So true. Have you ever mixed green and white tea together?
Oh yes! I'm not a fan of black tea, too many tannins- but oh yea, white and green... My favorite right now is a white tea with dried apricot and madagascar vanilla... yum :)
Have you tried red tea?
Not a fan of black either. Are you familiar with the health benefits of mixing cinnamon with honey? The two work amazingly well together.
http://www.benefits-of-honey.com/honey-and-cinnamon.html
Yea! I touched on it in the above article- two medical schools have found the combo to be good for preventing diabetes :)
I use honey now instead of jam on my toast. But after reading this post, I'm gonna try a cup of coffee (black) w/honey instead of sugar. Thanks for the suggestion! UV
I began using honey in my coffee when a barista mixed mine with someone's. I LOVED it, and haven't gone back ;)
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Manuka honey from New Zealand is the perfect cure for a cough. Over-the-counter cough medicine has never worked. But so many medicines and herbs sold in drug stores either have poor quality control or simply don't work. Certain zinc compounds are totally ineffective for the common cold, yet they are allowed to be sold to the unwitting consumer. And don't get me started on big pharma lol :/
Oh no, yea, lets not talk about pharma and fda and ama... lol nope!
I use about 3 pounds of honey a year!
I'm probably right there with you too!
Excellent post. The honey does have to be raw, right? I suppose it wouldn't be as beneficial trying to swap out for honey in recipes that are cooked. I'd love to try honey on wounds for my kids, but they'd probably lick it off!
Yes, it has to be raw. The process of pasteurization takes out all the beneficial stuff.
LOL! I can see mine doing that too!!!